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LOS ANGELES — On the morning after their first stumble of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Kings didn’t work on their power play or zone coverage or breakout or faceoffs.

They practised their slant patterns, three-point shots, their headers and serves. They reported to their training compound in suburban El Segundo, where the roar from airliners at LAX is heard and the roar from the Pacific is not, and played football, basketball, soccer and table tennis. If they’d actually gone on the ice, the Kings would have completed the modern pentathlon of a National Hockey League team.

“We’ve been having fun here today,” veteran centre Jarret Stoll said Thursday. “We’ve been upbeat, positive and that’s what you’ve got to be. Sometimes you lose a game. Sometimes you lose two in a row. But as long as you come back the next day and do the right things and have the right attitude, you go from there.”

The Kings finally lost a game to the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1 on Wednesday. And if they lose a second in a row Sunday in Vancouver, then the Canucks will be only halfway back from the 0-3 crypt they dug for themselves in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It was only one game, although it will be talked to death because the NHL and arena availability set a schedule that has the Kings and Canucks playing once in six days.

Stoll admitted that’s not an ideal timetable for the Kings, who failed on their first chance to eliminate the Canucks and put themselves into the second round for the first time since 2001. The Kings would rather play sooner, lest three days’ worth of questions about the loss and the Canucks’ potential renewal with Daniel Sedin back in the lineup and Cory Schneider in goal actually plants some doubt in the minds of Los Angeles players.

The pressure in this series — if that is the fear of losing — is still all on the Canucks, who had two chances to win one game for the Stanley Cup last June and are among the favourites again this year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy.

The Kings shouldn’t feel any real anxiety and apprehension unless Vancouver also wins Game 5. Then suddenly a Los Angeles franchise with a history of playoff failure is back home in front of their expectant fans, knowing a seemingly insurmountable three-love lead is nearly gone and that Game 6 may as well be Game 7.

But the idea that the Kings might crumble because they haven’t won in the playoffs and just saw a 3-0 lead become 3-1 isn’t very plausible when you examine the Los Angeles roster.

Sure, the Kings went out in the first round the last two seasons and didn’t make the playoffs the previous six. But only three of their skaters are in their first playoff, and seven Kings have been to the Cup final with other teams. So has their coach, Darryl Sutter. That’s a lot of playoff know-how, a lot of leadership.

“I don’t think playoffs are about pressure; it’s about the moment,” Sutter, who guided the Calgary Flames to Game 7 of the 2004 final, said during his most loquacious news conference so far. “I never looked at it as pressure. If someone’s feeling pressure, that’s a real negative.

“We probably played our best game (Wednesday), but we were dominated by the Sedins. Totally dominated by those players. It’s not ‘Why?’ or ‘How do you adjust?’ — they’re great players. They both just finished winning scoring races and Hart Trophies, so they’re great players. As a team . . . you have to be aware when they’re on the ice and what they do.”

Henrik and Daniel Sedin, back from a concussion on Wednesday after missing 12 games, were as dynamic and dangerous together as they had been in months. That’s another reason the Canucks feel hopeful.

“They’re different, for sure,” Stoll said of the Canucks. “They help each other out and it gives a lot more depth throughout their lineup and a lot more confidence, too, throughout their lineup. (But) we’ve beat them before with a healthy (Vancouver) lineup. We expect to play better, play well and hopefully win.”

Stoll was an important piece in the Edmonton Oilers’ 2006 run to the final. Kings’ forward Justin Williams was on the Carolina Hurricane team that beat Edmonton.

Los Angeles defenceman Rob Scuderi won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, winger Dustin Penner won with the Anaheim Ducks, and grinder Colin Fraser was an extra on the Chicago Blackhawks’ championship team two years ago. So the Kings have players from four of the last six Stanley Cup winners.

Forwards Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were with the Philadelphia Flyers who they lost to the Blackhawks in 2010.

“We were down 3-1 and we got it to Game 7,” Stoll recalled of the ‘06 final. “So, I know definitely that 3-1 can become 3-3 pretty quickly if you don’t take care of the right things and have the right attitude.

“That’s what it’s all about for us right now — the right attitude and the right frame of mind. We know we’ve won in Vancouver . . . and we can do it again.”

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